Samsung Galaxy S5’s Fingerprint Scanner might well be compromised

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The allegation that has been put forward by FireEye can have quite an impact on the recent future of Samsung. This is what a few experts think since FireEye have stated their plans to show how Samsung Galaxy S5’s fingerprint scanner can be used by the hackers to steal the biometric data of the owners. According to the reports, the security firm FireEye hasclaimed that they can show how Samsung Galaxy S5’s fingerprint scanner is posing a threat to the biometric data of its owners.

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The security firm states that Android has once failed to the provide the kind of security that is required for handling such volatile information like biometric identity. Although they have not stated that the features that have been used in Samsung Galaxy S5 are the break points, but in efforts to guard the features, Android and Samsung have left the path unguarded. The mechanism followed by the fingerprint scanner in Samsung Galaxy S5 allows the device to scan the fingerprints and store it in a secure zone inside the device, but what path by which the data travels to the secure zone.

The security firm claims that if the hackers look forward to breaking into the path through which the data travels, they will have a much better chance of grabbing it instead of trying to break into the secure zone. Once the kernel in broken into, the hackers can easily read the data from the fingerprint sensor right at the time when it is scanned. Yulong Zhang, one of the researchers working on the issue, has stated that once the hacker has the scanned fingerprint, it can surely be used anywhere and for any purpose.

Apple’s Touch Id also use a similar architecture of a secure zone, but till date, no one has been able to break into the system yet. But the fingerprint scanner can be easily fooled with spoofed fingerprints. The sensor cannot distinguish between a fake fingerprint and a real one.

On the other hand, Samsung has claimed that they are sincerely looking into the matter. There is no doubt about the fact that if the fingerprints have been stolen from Samsung Galaxy S5, due to the weakness of the operating system, things can easily turn nasty. The inability to handle the biometric data properly by Android might just have left the owners of Samsung Galaxy S5 open to a variety of threats.

About Wayne Murphy

Writer and specialized in Mobile Phones (iOS, Android, BB etc), who was with the TND team since it's inception. Other than Blogging, he is also pursuing his graduation on Business Management at CA, California University. All posts by Wayne